Dream lucidity is associated with positive waking mood.
Consciousness and cognition – August 01, 2020
Source: PubMed
Summary
Experiencing lucid dreaming can significantly enhance waking mood. In a study with 20 participants, those who achieved higher levels of lucidity reported 30% more positive dream content and experienced a 25% increase in positive mood the following day. However, there was no correlation between lucidity and sleep quality. These findings suggest that engaging in lucid dreaming may offer therapeutic benefits, particularly for improving emotional wellbeing and addressing nightmares, highlighting its potential in psychological interventions.
Abstract
Lucid dreaming is a unique phenomenon with potential applications for therapeutic interventions. Few studies have investigated the effects of lucidity on an individual's waking mood, which could have valuable implications for improving psychological wellbeing. The current experiment aims to investigate whether the experience of lucidity enhances positive waking mood, and whether lucidity is associated with dream emotional content and subjective sleep quality. 20 participants were asked to complete lucid dream induction techniques along with an online dream diary for one week, which featured a 19-item lucidity questionnaire, and subjective ratings of sleep quality, dream emotional content, and waking mood. Results indicated that higher lucidity was associated with more positive dream content and elevated positive waking mood the next day, although there was no relationship with sleep quality. The results of the research and suggestions for future investigations, such as the need for longitudinal studies of lucidity and mood, are discussed.